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Monday, May 30, 2016

Review: Mythic Britain for Mythras/RuneQuest 6

Mythic Britainis a 362 page PDF published by The Design Mechanism, that presents a pseudo-historical setting for Mythras and RuneQuest 6. I've always had an interest in historically inspired settings, its great to use real history as inspiration, and generally there is little needed to familiarize your players to the setting.The book opens with an Introduction to familiarize yourself with what the book covers.The First chapter is History and Overview, which opens with a small section on the mythology of the island. Next is Britain and Magic, which explores Druidism, Christianity, and Saxon beliefs and their attitudes toward magic. The Kings, Betrayers section covers the time from the Roman Exodus to the Dark Ages and includes information on Merlin and King Arthur.The Second chapter is Kingdoms of Mythic Britain, it gives us a detailed look at the lands of Britain in 495 AD. This whole section provides you with what is happening all over the British Isles and is a wonderful tool to inspire events in your campaign.The Third chapter is Celtic Life and Society, which provides in-depth information to easily immerse yourself in. The culture, customs, and the important Five Aspects of Character are covered.The Fourth Chapter is Mythic Britain Characters, will help you build your Celtic or Saxon character and the tribe they come from. It essentially translates this information to how Mythras/RQ6 handles background and culture.The Fifth Chapter is Gods, Religion, and Magic. It opens with Christianity, their saints (with many examples), the structure of it's church (and their priests), and covers Miracles and how a character may use them. Next up are the Celts and their pagan gods and magic,which covers the mortal world, the other world, and the spirit world. Full details of their rites and rituals are disclosed, including using predator spirits to Eat Knowledge. Then the Old Gods are detailed. An exploration of Druidic Animism and the Spirits of Britain, with Spirit Spells and Sacred Sites provided. The Thirteen Treasures of Britain are given an overview. This section concludes with Saxon Gods and Magic. The Aesir are detailed and Saxon magic is presented.The Sixth Chapter is Britain at War, which discusses the realities and of combat and the units of armies on the British Isles. An abstract mass battle system is detailed, which is designed for role players to resolve large scale engagements and is not a miniature game, which serves me very well. I will use the system provided for this system and as an inspiration for other games, as well.The Seventh Chapter is Mythic Britons, which details the major characters of history and legend. While stats are provided, the best part of these write-ups is the concise overview with each entry.The Eight Chapter is The Mythic Britain Campaign, which provides extensive notes and help for a Game Master running in this setting. I felt, even as an experienced GM, that the advice given was useful and well thought out, allowing better immersion into the setting.

The Final Chapters are seven linked adventures, The Winter Council, Bran Galed's Horn, Of Promises Broken, Logres Burning, Gullveig's Children, and Suppose You Time Were Come to Die, which form a well written and intriguing campaign. Personally, the these adventures are worth the price of this book, on their own. Often, as a GM, I have some good ideas, but need focus and additional inspiration, this campaign works just as well for those purposes for me.I truly recommend Mythic Britain, The Design Mechanism produces high quality products and this is yet another one in their catalog.